We previously discussed how The Witcher may have been inspired by a role-playing game but concluded that, according to author Andrzej Sapkowski's own words, he didn't have that much familiarity with tabletop RPGs because he claimed he never played them. We now know that's untrue. Why? Because Sapkowski wrote one.
He “Doesn't Play Games”
Sapkowski's Witcher franchise has grown exponentially thanks to the popularity of the books in Europe, followed up by the CD Projekt Red video game series, and most recently the Netflix series. Because of the video games' popularity, they inevitably come up in interviews with the author. The io9 interview was no different. When asked to compare the show to the video game, Sapkowski replied:
“There Was Only One Tabletop RPG”
In another interview, Sapkowski was asked about the several role-playing games ("a few") that were created based on the books and what he thought about them:
Actually, He DID Play RPGs
When asked in a different interview if he ever played RPGs, Sapkowski responded:
It's worth noting that Sapkowksi mentioned he wasn't "interested in that anymore," implying he was interested in it once. And he most certainly was interested in role-playing games, because he created one.
He Wrote His Own RPG System
Sapkowski wrote a 300-page role-playing game titled Oko Yrrhedesa (The Eye of Yrrhedes), published in 1995:
Why Disavow RPGs?
It’s clear that Sapkowski’s position on gaming and how it influenced his books has soured over time, and it might have something to do with the video game series.
Back in the early 2000s, Sapkowski sold the rights to The Witcher to CD Project Red. Sapkowski had the option of obtaining a percentage of the profits, but, believing there was no future in video games, he opted instead to sell the rights for just 35,000 Polish złoty (roughly £7,250 or over $9,000). Realizing his mistake, Sapkowski sued the video game company for £12.4m ($16.1m / €14m). CD Projekt Red refused to pay. The two parties later settled for an undisclosed amount that was certainly lower than what Sapkowski asked for.
In addition to the loss of revenue, Sapkowski came to see the video game franchise as infringing on his fiction line’s success:
He “Doesn't Play Games”
Sapkowski's Witcher franchise has grown exponentially thanks to the popularity of the books in Europe, followed up by the CD Projekt Red video game series, and most recently the Netflix series. Because of the video games' popularity, they inevitably come up in interviews with the author. The io9 interview was no different. When asked to compare the show to the video game, Sapkowski replied:
So there we have it—Sapkowski never played any games, video games or otherwise (with the possible exception of bridge and poker). Except there was a tabletop role-playing game based on The Witcher, which in turn came from a poorly received movie.
“There Was Only One Tabletop RPG”
In another interview, Sapkowski was asked about the several role-playing games ("a few") that were created based on the books and what he thought about them:
The RPG referenced is Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni (The Witcher: A Game of Imagination) that was published by MAG in 2001. Sapkowski casually references that he wrote his own book about role-playing games, which is something of an understatement.
Actually, He DID Play RPGs
When asked in a different interview if he ever played RPGs, Sapkowski responded:
We’ll come back to the question of what he meant by “Steve Jackson” in a bit. In the same interview, Sapkowski confessed he is familiar with D&D, but not the new system licensed to R. Talsorian Games:
There's a reason Sapkowski is familiar with D&D. In that same interview he explains:
Sapkowski studied economics at the University of Lodz before turning to writing. He would reference AD&D again in another interview:
Considering the signs of D&D-isms in The Witcher Netflix series (chromatic dragons; blue-skinned doppelgangers; characters named by their classes like “bard” and “druid”; infectious ghouls; the use of the term "halflings" and "ents"; and gnomes, dwarves, elves, half-elves, and humans all in one setting), it seems likely that Sapkowski played in an AD&D campaign at university and was inspired by that game to write The Witcher.
It's worth noting that Sapkowksi mentioned he wasn't "interested in that anymore," implying he was interested in it once. And he most certainly was interested in role-playing games, because he created one.
He Wrote His Own RPG System
Sapkowski wrote a 300-page role-playing game titled Oko Yrrhedesa (The Eye of Yrrhedes), published in 1995:
The Eye of Yrrhedes is not just a scholarly work about role-playing games. It's also a self-contained game system (which is why the interviewer above mentioned "several" role-playing games). In another interview, Sapkowski explained why he wrote it:
There are hints that Sapkowski's motivation to write The Eye of Yrrhedes was in reaction to solo gamebooks. His mention of Steve Jackson could be a reference to GURPS authored by the American author Steve Jackson Games, or to the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks produced by European author Steve Jackson. Given that complexity of GURPS and Spakowski was in Europe, it seems more likely he encountered the European game--and possibly the game designer himself:
When an interviewer asked about how magic worked in the world of the Witcher, Sapkowski had this to say:
The Eye of Yrrhedes contains several nuggets of information about what would become The Witcher universe, including stats for Yennefer.
Why Disavow RPGs?
It’s clear that Sapkowski’s position on gaming and how it influenced his books has soured over time, and it might have something to do with the video game series.
Back in the early 2000s, Sapkowski sold the rights to The Witcher to CD Project Red. Sapkowski had the option of obtaining a percentage of the profits, but, believing there was no future in video games, he opted instead to sell the rights for just 35,000 Polish złoty (roughly £7,250 or over $9,000). Realizing his mistake, Sapkowski sued the video game company for £12.4m ($16.1m / €14m). CD Projekt Red refused to pay. The two parties later settled for an undisclosed amount that was certainly lower than what Sapkowski asked for.
In addition to the loss of revenue, Sapkowski came to see the video game franchise as infringing on his fiction line’s success:
In light of Sapkowski’s experience with AD&D, the many D&Disms scattered throughout the series, and the fact the he wrote his own RPG ... it seems The Witcher was definitely influenced by a game. It just happened to be a tabletop game instead.
